Expandable medical devices, for example balloons, are commonly used for dilating and unblocking clogged or narrowed arteries (angioplasty). More recently, balloons have been used in surgical contexts other than angioplasty because the implants can be introduced into a surgical site with a reduced profile to minimize disruption of the surrounding tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.
In the context of vertebral reconstruction, balloons could be particularly useful. Vertebral reconstruction procedures, including percutaneous procedures such as kyphoplasty or vertebral body stenting, are used to correct a fractured vertebrae, a spinal deformity, or spinal instability, while intervertebral procedures, such as open surgery spinal fusion procedures, are used to correct the loss of disc height due to degenerative or herniated discs. Balloons using percutaneous procedures are not yet known to be commonly used in spinal fusion and intervertebral disc replacement procedures. Classic spinal fusion procedures are often effective to restore proper vertebral spacing and therefore relieve pressure on nerves and consequent pain, despite the huge open wounds and subsequent surgical trauma involved.
A problem with currently used fusion procedures occurs when two vertebral bodies are fused together because eventually the lack of an intervertebral disc between the two fused vertebral bodies overloads the adjacent intervertebral discs accelerating the degeneration of these adjacent discs. One treatment option is an intervertebral disc replacement, such as a prosthetic disc. This procedure is also used in patients with degenerative or herniated discs. A problem associated with a prosthetic disc is the vertebral bodies may need varying support in different locations. Pressure distribution on the damaged intervertebral disc may no longer be uniform, due to the years of damage to the spine that typically occurs before surgery is considered. Therefore, a prosthetic disc may not provide the necessary support to the vertebral bodies.
Another issue related to use of implants is that diseases, such as degenerative disc disease (DDD), are dynamic diseases: the intervertebral disc degenerates progressively and presents a variety of symptoms, and therefore treatment options. Disc degeneration is a normal part of the aging process and may not be an issue for a normal person. For an individual with DDD, however, a degenerated disc can cause severe chronic pain and lead to chronic debilitating conditions if left untreated. In some patients, DDD can be treated without surgery, but if non-surgical treatment options are unsuccessful, surgery is typically recommended. The surgical option selected for a patient depends on the stage of disc degeneration, i.e., early-, mid-, or late-stages of degeneration. Some examples of surgical procedures include: discectomy, corpectomy, fusion, dynamic stabilization, intervertebral disc arthroplasty (also called Artificial Disc Replacement (ADR)), and spinal decompression. Once traditional surgical procedures, such as fusion, are used to treat DDD, there is an increased rate of re-operation for patients to treat additional problems associated with DDD. One solution to this problem is to provide a method of treatment for DDD that allows a patient to retain mobility and preserve the range of motion to minimize the need for re-operation.
As one skilled in the related art would readily appreciate, there is a continuing need for new and innovative expandable medical implants and insertion devices directed toward the treatment of diseased and damaged bones and discs. More specifically, there exists a need for expandable medical implants that provide maximum support and ease of positioning within a cavity of bone and/or the disc space.